Delete Key Awards Finalist #8: ‘The Confession’ by James McGreevey with David France

“Our first few times burned so fiercely in my mind I could hardly recall them even as we were still lying together.”

Critics have not been kind to the red, white, and purple prose in this memoir by the New Jersey “Luv Guv” who resigned after outing himself as a “gay American.” Alas, they have a point. Those of us who live in New Jersey had hoped that while in office, McGreevey would keep his mind on big questions like: Why do we have the highest property tax rates in the nation? But we learn from The Confession (HarperCollins/Regan) that he kept getting distracted by thoughts like: “He greeted me in his briefs. ‘Did anybody see you?’ he asked, closing the door quickly” … “We undressed and he kissed me. It was the first time in my life that a kiss meant what it was supposed to mean – it sent me through the roof” … “I pulled him to the bed and we made love like I’d always dreamed … boastful, passionate, whispering …” Lines like these suggest that if McGreevey has no future in politics, he may yet have a career as the gay romance novelist.

Writing sample:
“Our first few times burned so fiercely in my mind I could hardly recall them even as we were still lying together. “ Get out the fire hoses when politicians try to write about hot sex. If those trysts burned “fiercely” in McGreevey’s mind, doesn’t that mean he would remember them, not forget them?